P022 → Mythmakers
“This will be a game.
A game of stories.
That we begin but do not yet know how to end.”
The Mythmakers is a performative card game developed by four collaborators (Eszter Nemethi – Brussels/Cork, Pranav Patadiya – Bangalore, Satchit Puranik & Anitha Santhanam- Mumbai) who decided to come together around the need to re-imagine theatre for the children of the future at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to both process and take advantage of the domestic yet global circumstances we found ourselves in.
>>> to download the online version CLICK
The game has been developed in two phases. The first phase was a part of a four month international collaboration ‘Theatre for the Children of the Future’ supported by Kaaitheater, Brussels in early 2021. The result of this initial residency has been a start ofa methodology to work remotely (via zoom) with children and their adults around the ideas of the future towards the development of a card-game/performance that can beactivated by the adult/child groups at home.
In our attempt to build a new theatre myth/fable for the children of the future, we sought the creativity and imagination of children (ages 8 to 11 years) to jam with us. We understood that in order to imagine a theatre for the children of the future we need to collaborate (this means work together with) the children of the present. We think the future is already inside the present, we think theatre grows from play and its myths grow from our collective imagination. We are invited 6 children from 5 countries to search, play and imagine with us.
The second phase of the deveopment was supported by the Arts Council of Ireland’s Agility Award grant (from Jan’22 – May’22) and the Living Commons, Cork.
In the second phase we again invited some young expert game-designers to work with us from Mr. Kelleher’s fifth year class at St. Columba’s National School in Cork Ireland and playtested the game with children in Mumbai/Bombay and Cork.
This has resulted in an online version of the game available for download. The game functions much like a boardgame but incorporates principles of play, conversational performance and theatre methodologies allowing the children and their adults to imagine and relate their fears, imaginations, wishes of the future.
It is designed for children aged 6 – 11 and it can be played in the group of 3 to 6 children with a facilitator (parent/teacher or the eldest one in the playing group!)
Game development: Eszter Nemethi, Satchit Puranik, Pranav Patadiya, Anitha Santhanam
Young collaborators: Adya Tillu, Ilhan Dabreo, Dunja Abdullah, Yahya Hachimi, Klára and Juli Rádai, Léon Mutti, James Crimmings, Will Drinan, Sam Rodgers, Caleb Sutcliffe, PJ MacSweeny, Barra Linehan
Game testing: Mr. Kelleher’s fifth year class in Cork and the children who joined the various early workshops in Mumbai
Design: Felix Jackson
Video: Shahabuddin Shah
Workshop support: Eve Olney, Nizamuddin Shah, Tanvi Patanakar, Samrat Damyanti
Supported by: Arts Council of Ireland, Kaaitheater, Art Basics for Children, ChikkaDodda Art Lab, Living Commons, St.Columba’s National School